History

Already at the end of the 19th century Natale Staurino opened a goldsmith's store in a small village near Valenza, where his great-grandsons Stefano and Davide still maintain one of the company's production sites. It was then Natale's grandson, Pietro, who continued the activity in the 1920s, working for the local market as a producer and reselling some of his creations in the main Italian boutiques. The outbreak of the Second World War and in particular the ban on working gold caused a setback for the development of the company, which was forced to close. From 1950 Paolo Staurino, Pietro's son, completed his apprenticeship in several Valenza companies and together with his brother Luigi, a design specialist and expert goldsmith, founded the company Staurino Fratelli (trademark 1248 AL) on 17 January 1964. From the very beginning the company was characterized by a production of uniquely designed and hand-made jewelry. The elegance sought in the choice of lines and color combinations, in addition to the care in the workmanship, favored the first international awards, allowing the Staurino brothers to work for some of the world's most famous jewelry brands from Cartier to Van Cleef & Arpels. Starting from the Eighties most of the creations were destined to the foreign market, in particular to the Arab world; the predilection of some royal families of the Middle East for the production of original and imaginative jewelry allowed the creation of precious sets of high jewelry. While keeping up with the artisan tradition of the company, the Staurino brothers continued to invest in production, thus consolidating a dense network of sales points at an international level. After an apprenticeship in the company, during the Nineties Stefano and Davide took over the management of the company, combining traditional classic shapes with whimsical creations, dominated by a design inspired by the lightness and transparency of lines. Movement and originality are today the main features of Staurino jewels, appreciated also by Hollywood divas like Sandra Bullock.

 

Archive

The fund, which has been established since the 1920s, preserves iconographic series (drawings and sketches from 1960 to the present), photographs of the collections (from 1970 to the present), advertising posters (from the 1980s). The photographic material has been digitalized since 2000. These series are complemented by collections of objects such as rubber molds (catalogued), prototypes and waxes, preserved in the production rooms. There is also a collection of jewelry and objects from the twenties, which are an important testimony of Pietro Staurino's activity. 

 

In particular, the identified series have the following characteristics:

-Drawings and sketches (not catalogued; about 8 thousand)

-Photos (n. 44 folders).

-Rubber moulds (n. 8420 pieces)

-Advertising catalogs (about 5 linear meters)

-Waxes

-Prototypes

 

Sources:

W. Fochesato, R. Massola, Gioielli su carta. Ricchezze dorate fra disegni e cartoline: da Valenza all'Italia, Interlinea, Novara 2018, drawing reproduced on page 57

L. Lenti, Gioielli e gioiellieri di Valenza, Arte e storia 1825-1975, Allemandi, Turin 1994, pp. 432.

L. Lenti - M. C. Bergesio, Dizionario del gioiello italiano del XIX e XX secolo, Allemandi, 2005, Descriptive item on pp. 263-264, with illustration.